The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-07-13
Our Own Guage.

No two people are alike. Twins so
resemble in form and feature that you
cannot tell them apart, and yet in dis
position they are as diverse as other
people. The infinite variety Is very
remarkable. You are now and then
reminded of a friend by resem-
blance, which some one you meet,
bears to him; but let the person under
inspection only speak or smile, and
the difference becomes more marked
than the fancied resemblance. And
yet it is quite common to find people
trying to fit themselves to mould cast
for another, and as such an attempt is
unnatural, the result is almost always
very poor caricature. You cannot
run narrow-guage cars on a broad
guage railway. 1t is foolish to try IT.,
since the result must be wreck and
ruin. There is only one eXemplar we
dare try to be like, and our success IN
this direction never comes from copy
ing from these like-minded with our
selves. We are to have our own con-
ceptions of Christ. He is to us what
we discover by study, prayer and faith
and what He reveals to US, and we
know rs we follow on to know the
Lord" We were once stationed at an
educational centre, and it afforded us
much amusement TO notice how the
impressible students copied the man.
nerism and even speech of their favor
ite professor. The coat never fitted,
and the enterprising imitator was
only laughed at for his pains. We be-
lieve, of course, in the study of hu-
man nature. 1t is most enjoyable
pursuit. There are valuable lessons
learned, and yet the result is always
disappointing, since we find no two
alike. and cannot construct any theo-
nv which will stand moments scru-
tiny. The greatest mystery to man is
man. Perhaps we may not arrive at
Carlyle's Judgment of his own nation,
who said, "there are twenty million
Englishmen, mostly FOOLS" But sure
ly we will find that the men who try
to initiate others are fools. Iti is the
less who try to be like the greater.
The outlay of effort should always be
to advance according to ourown guage.
We may be made after small pattern,
but let us try to be not after pattern
or q pattern for anybody else, but the
best we can be with our environment
and the help of God. We do not be.
lieve that there is any exact standard
of Christian experience, which we are
to fit to ourselves. Our possibilities
are enormous, and yet they are always
to be after our own guage. Sometimes
we hear testimony in our experience
meetings and we envy its possessor
but we do not see the other side, and
how the experience was gained, per-
haps by bitter disappointments, and
severe sorrows; and even if willing to
suffer similar discipline, the result
could not quadrate with the desired
experience, seeing it is not our guage.
1t is best for US to let the Lord mark
out the paths for our feet, and then
obediently to follow them, "looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of
our faith" He will perfect that
(which we have committed to Him
against that day." It is better to let
the Author of our being work out our
destiny for us, and the result will be a
8 irprise to US and Joy to the angels.
You lose time to even measure the
guage of other people. You know
your own number, stick to that, and
60 forward "unto the perfect day"